Little Bit Funky

people who like free

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Sara Luke is my absolute favorite ever card designer.
She is the reason that I send out photo Christmas cards.
If she ever quits...then there is a good chance that I would too. Sending photo cards that is.
Her work is lovely, her speed is amazing, her results are above quality.
I love each and every card she has done for us...and by now, that's a lot. Less Ordinary Designs is my go to for all things digital. :)
Here are some of her designs that are in the running for me this year...

cute.

cuter.

and cuter still.

Sara has ever so graciously offered a FREE design and a $50 print credit to one luck reader. :)

The overnight bag? I really liked. It was great to take on our weekend trip to Blacksburg. Just the right size for my husband and I to share.

The foodies? Did nothing for me. They are well made and perfect for those with better patience than I do. I really wanted them to work for me but I don't need another thing to have to wash. The boys do love sticking little toys in them though.

I also got several others...a lunch box for Aaron and a couple of other every day use kind of bags. I love them all and would buy them again. Well made and heavy duty. Durable and perfect for any need you may have. :)

Want to be one of the five winners of the $50 gift cards?

Just leave a comment on this post telling me one of your goals for this fall. :)

Friday, May 13, 2011

We recently tried out an ARM & HAMMER® Spinbrush® MY WAY! ® battery powered toothbrush for boys and a tube of Orajel® MY WAY!™ Kids Toothpaste. The idea behind them is to get kids excited about oral care by allowing them to participate in the process of decorating their own toothbrush and toothpaste with the stickers that are included with the package. And long story short…it worked. Moses was thrilled to decorate his OWN toothbrush and toothpaste any way that he wanted. He was very serious about what stickers went where and even took the time to spell out his name. At one point during the process he even said “I can’t wait to brush my teeth with my new cool toothbrush”. WIN!

As a mom…I like the idea of both involving them and exciting them about something as important as taking care of their teeth. Anything that makes something you HAVE to do, a little easier, is a good thing in my book. I liked that he could decorate it himself with little to no help from me, that he enjoyed it and that he looked forward to using it. As for the actual products…we both loved them. The toothbrush is light and easy for little hands to use properly…a quality we have had to watch out for with other toothbrushes. The toothpaste was much easier for him to operate than our previous brand…it was easy to get a proper amount on the brush and he seemed to like the flavor. We would definitely use both products again because at the end of the day…it made a chore into more of a joy.

The concept of adding a fun creative tint to a “must do” chore is nothing new in our household…I am always looking for ways to turn the have to do into the want to do. Sometimes it comes in the form of making a silly face on their plates out of foods they might shy away from otherwise…or making a race out cleaning up the toys…or throwing some baby wash into the kiddie pool at the end of a summer day to make bath time FUN.

It doesn’t take much, for most kids, to give them a little creative boost to get them excited about something…the important thing, I’ve learned, is to let THEM do it. Whether it is decorating their toothbrush THEIR way, or coloring a picture THEIR way, or letting them experiment with different supplies and activities…creativity grows faster when you let it run it’s own course. I try hard to step back and let them do their thing…whether it’s picking out their own clothes or mixing up the playdoh colors…the important thing is that they are learning and using their imaginations.

Now…how can I creatively get my two year old potty trained?

Want to win a little moolah to go by your own creative juices flowing? BlogHer and
ARM & HAMMER are sponsoring a very generous giveaway here for $100 Visa gift card for one lucky reader! To enter, leave me a comment telling me one way you use your creative mama self to get your kids excited about a chore?

Rules:
Giveaway goes from May 10th – June 9th
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Recently I was asked to check out a new to me place on the web...MasterCard MarketPlace. I headed on over and signed up for an account in about thirty seconds...easy peasy. Took a look around and was a little bummed out that I was already finished with my Christmas shopping. SO many great deals all around...on toys and housewares and clothes...I got lost in all the bargains for almost an hour. Some of the deals are so great that I am seriously tempted to keep on adding to my Christmas shopping list...

I'm especially tempted by the 50.00 off at cooking.com...or up to 70% off at Saks. (this offer is available at the time my post went live but may not be available later on!)

The box on the bottom right of the screen is my favorite feature...it shows you all the most popular deals...the almost gone deals and the most popular for men and women. Makes finding the good deals super easy.

Tons of your already favorite places to shop...Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Children's Place, Priceline...and tons more. It really is MasterCard MarketPlace – A Smarter Way to Shop Online.

They have a feature called "Holiday Overwhelming Offers". I took a peek at some of the previous ones...a Lego set that was originally $100 marked down to $50...a Wii marked down to $100! (these offers were available at the time my post went live but may not be available later on!)

Crazy...well worth your time to sign up kind of deals. To get the OOs you have to be quick...Everyday until December 24th they release a set amount of reservations for the Holiday Overwhelming Offers at 1pm EST every week day (excluding holidays)...once you sign up you get to see a little countdown to your reserve time...when 1pm comes you click reserve, put in the "I'm not a robot" code and you WIN! :) You have to be fast though...I think the Legos set sold out in 11 seconds...500 of them! Every weekday there is a new 50% offer. You can get Black Friday -Like deals at deep discounts. In your pj's...without the bother of leaving your house.

Over the top savings that bring over the top joy: Priceless

Having a $100 MasterCard gift card from BlogHer to give to one of you: awesome.

Leave a comment saying something sweet.

Rules:No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entrymethods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a commenton this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment onthis post

d) Read the official rules for alternate form of entry.

Sweepstakes ends 5 PM PST on December 31, 2010.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will beselected.

Be sure to check out the other 19 bloggers who are also giving away gift cards by going HERE! :)

Overwhelming Offers (OO) are limited in quantity, reservation only and limited in time. Participating merchants and offers are subject to change. The OO
discount is provided as a statement credit. See www.mastercardmarketplace.com for restrictions and complete terms and conditions.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Recently I was sent a copy of some of my favorite Christmas movies of all time on Blu-ray. I was so excited to show these to the boys and Moses seemed to love hearing that these were the Christmas shows that I grew up watching.

Both boys loved them...and the good folks at Classic Media gave me a set to give away to one of you!

Just leave a comment with your name and email and a favorite holiday tradition that you are passing on to your kids. :) I will choose a winner at the end of the week. :)